How Kids Can Learn to Sew Their Own Mini Garden!

Whether you need to replace a button or fix a hem, sewing is simply a good skill for everyone to have. But let’s be honest — how many kids today actually know how to do it? Thanks to the fun Sew Mini Gardens activity kit that Klutz sent me try out, there are two more middle schoolers in Minnesota who know how to tie a knot in a thread and nail a whip stitch. 

As a bonus: They have super cute mini plants on their desks as a result. 

Pick up your kit below, and read on for my full review of it!

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The Klutz: Sew Mini Gardens kit combines crafting with science by teaching kids how to sew (an incredible practice in dexterity), all while getting them interested in biology through cute plant plush buddies. It includes supplies and instructions for making flowers, succulents, frogs, and garden gnomes by stitching and stuffing colorful felt fabric. 

My 13-year-old and her 12-year-old friend each sewed a plant, and after flipping through the options in the kit, I was tempted to make one myself. 

The girls tackled the kit with gusto, taking time to page through the book and pick projects to pursue.  After a few minutes, my daughter chose a cactus, saying that she likes succulents – which of course are so trendy right now! Her friend picked a Venus flytrap. Whether they realized it or not, they were contemplating botany as they chose their favorite plants. 

They got to work pulling supplies from the kit, punching out cardboard templates, tracing the templates, and cutting the felt. When it was time to sew, I had to help them tie knots in the thread, but that was all the assistance they needed from me. In my opinion, activity kits that kids can do without much help are the best kind.

The girls said they had to jump from page to page frequently to learn skills, like stitching. But as a parent, I actually liked that! I believe that following directions is an important skill for school and life in general, and it often involves consulting more than one source, so I considered it a great learning experience. The instruction book is well-designed, and although they found the project somewhat challenging, they completed their mini cactus and Venus fly trap in an hour or two. 

Taking a project from page one to completion is a great exercise for kids. Besides giving them the confidence to tackle labs in science, technology, engineering, and FACS (family and consumer science) classes, hands-on projects amp up problem-solving and instruction-following skills for all of their classes.

Aside from scissors, the kit includes everything needed to make the mini garden plants. The accompanying booklet provides helpful photographs and detailed instructions, and the templates ensure success. But what I loved most about this kit is that it gives growing minds a creative challenge — complete with adorable results.

Pro tip: If your kids love this kit, they’ll also adore the Klutz: Sew Mini Treats activity kit!